An unwelcome invited guest

It was a grand wedding, held in a five-star hotel close to Diyawanna. The bride was the daughter of a white-collar bigwig holding very high secretarial status in the yahapalanaya administrative nerve-centre. In fact, he held high secretarial status under the previous regime as well.

A storm rocks the ‘Tree’ again!

The Tree party led by the flamboyant purohita Haq Kim is said to be in the throes of a crisis again.

Prorogation: To avert a predicament?

There is widespread speculation about a move afoot to prorogue the present session of the Diyawanna council.

Media publicity to undermine the new party

A very high Blue party political authority had somewhat surprised the state media heads by instructing them to give maximum possible publicity to the livewire of the new political party formed by a splinter group. 

He has gone absurdly green

A political appointee holding secretarial status of sorts in a Ministry handling the public purse had made it a practice to sign all official documents including agreements and vouchers in green ink. And the general audit who had come for the annual inspection had queried this irregular practice at the start of their work.

Making a killing by cooked up billing

Government for some time had been buying ‘bada-irungu’ (sorghum) from the farmers in Rajarata as a relief measure.  The authorities instructed a certain State-run enterprise to purchase ‘bada-irungu’ harvested during the last season as usual after releasing the required funds for the purpose. 

Did the JO man take his colleagues for a ride?

How a uniformed bigwig found himself at the centre of a storm when a phone conversation he had with a ‘sir’ at a public function went public is no longer news. By the way, there had been much more to this drama than had met the public eye.

Grooming the better half

A former provincial councilor from the Kandy district has begun setting up electorate level party organizations on his own as part of a larger plan to groom his wife as a candidate at the upcoming PC polls.

Celebrating birthday at no cost

The top cop in the Western province celebrated his birthday on a grand scale, they say.

Credited public funds to private bank account

A certain person, who was holding a high office in the country’s foreign mission in the capital of a Western country had over the years, has made it a practice to deposit in his private bank account some of the remittances sent by the Foreign Ministry to meet the diplomatic mission’s financial commitments. 

A bully boy enjoying a free run

This story is about the shenanigans of a local politico hailing from a village off Galle who is well known as a bully boy in the area.

Desperate transfer-seekers a gold mine for her

This female white-collar one attached to a commission connected to public service wields much political influence and she has turned the officials calling at this office seeking transfers to stations of their choice into a veritable gold mine.

He had the guts to say, ‘no’, but now he has to go!

There is a card that every citizen above the age of 18 in the country should possess. Plans are afoot now to issue an electronic card in place of the card now in use. 

An epilogue to a tragi-comic story!

How a bigwig in uniform drew attention on his department and on himself when he assured a high political authority that he would not allow the arrest of a certain bad guy is now public knowledge.

A victim of an act of revenge?

A former top cop who headed an elite force had to spend a few days in the state-run lodge at Welikada.

They are determined to expose the corrupt Top Ten!

A yahapalana bigwig holding a leadership position in Diyawannawa who was highly agitated over the JO move to expose ‘corrupt top ten’ in the government spoke to the livewire behind the move. Both being politicos from the upcountry happen to be long standing pals.

Two imposters in an alumni list!

A high seat of learning in the city recently decided to bring out a publication containing the profiles of its alumni who had brought honour to it by becoming members of the Diyawanna council. 

“Ball is in their court now!”

The former strongman made yet another visit to the land of the dragon recently. 

A raffle that baffles everyone!

A certain chief purohita has launched a lottery purportedly to raise funds for a good cause beneficial to the entire province. School teachers, children and employees in government offices in the province are asked to buy the tickets of this lottery, they say.

Three to go to make way for three newcomers?

Speculation is rife in political circles these days that three politicos who made their way to Diyawanna through the Betel leaf list are about to step down to make way for three other newcomers.

Now he has turned an entertainer!

This character is a head of a department responsible for maintaining the law and order in the country. 

Man sent by husband shown the door!

A buddy of this top team member in yahapalanaya wanted to secure a particular job in a key enterprise in the country. And the better half of the top team member is a top executive in this enterprise. So this job seeker sought the help of his friendly political bigwig to secure the job he wanted.

A secret chamber for privacy!

A purohita in yahapalanaya hailing from the South is said to be maintaining a secret chamber in his official residence.

Wooing voters with liquor!

A local politico in the deep South representing a main political party was recently appointed as the chief organizer of a constituency which had long been a stronghold of a prominent political family. This politico now thick in the party’s propaganda activities in the area is reportedly throwing parties for supporters where hard liquor flows like water.

They are at loggerheads!

A cold war going on between a senior purohita and the chief executive of a statutory body coming under his purview is one of the main topics being talked about in political circles these days. The duo has got into the habit of turning down each other’s official requests out of sheer spite, they say.

Political undercurrents undermining yahapalanaya?

A betel leaf Diyawanna member from the gem-rich district, a die-hard loyalist of the former strongman had a heart-to-heart chat with another Betel leaf member now holding a high office in yahapalanaya.

Professor turns tables on the Blue party hierarchy

The Blue party had called for the explanation from the legal professor, the chairman of the new ‘Pohottuwa’ political party for founding a new political party and becoming its chairman while being a member of the Blue political party. 

Fighting shy of Diyawanna council?

A young Diyawanna member has established a new record for high absenteeism from the council.

A jump from the bench to a political seat?

Reports from the North say that an ‘arbiter’ occupying a high chair in the administration of justice is planning to take to politics in a big way following in the footsteps of a political bigwig in the same province and with the latter’s blessings.

They have decided that enough is enough

There are at least eight State purohitas from both main parties in yahapalanaya sulking over the fact that they have been reduced to nonentities in their respective Ministries.